March 2, 2010

At the turn of the year the central beef inventories in Norway amounted to 2150 tonnes of meat, which was close to the maximum level set by the authorities.

A NOK2 (US$0.34) reduction in the target price per kilo was introduced on January 1, and so far the minced meat sales have risen, according to meat company Nortura. In total the beef sales have not risen, however; instead the sales for 2010 are forecast to drop by 200 tonnes as a result of a higher consumption of poultry and pork.

Meanwhile, the beef inventory has dropped to 1850 tonnes since the start of the year, but this is connected to a lower slaughter level. This in turn is connected to a rise in the milk quotas which mean that dairy cows are kept longer in production.